2009 promises to be a confounding mix of good and bad

People are having difficulties making their mortgage payments, yet they still go to movies. And with “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” “Terminator: Salvation,” “Twilight: New Moon” and “Star Trek” on the 2009 menu, it will likely be a banner box-office year.

The music industry continues to bleed, yet local bands are flourishing.

There has never been a more vibrant dance scene in San Diego, yet one of the city's three ballet companies may disband.

We asked our writers to look at the state of the arts as we move into 2009, and they found a picture full of contradictions. Local cultural institutions are figuring out how to weather the recession but maintain the artistic gains they made in recent years. And movie theaters are depending on people to count their pennies but continue to go to movies.

There are reasons to be hopeful, but to paraphrase another overused line (but not from Dickens): Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.